Exciting might be the wrong adjective.  Intense, queasy-filling, thought-vomiting … should I continue?   I had no idea the amount of preparation that goes into even the simplest of surgeries let alone the super duper we-are-going-to-cut-you-MEGAWIDE-open ones.   I had major surgery 15 years ago, so specialized in nature I still can’t pronounce or spell what it was called, but I don’t remember the masochistic surgical paperwork and day long visit to the surgical center before ever checking in.

When the Complex Becomes Even More Complex

In today’s world of surgical pre-op, there are appointments and paper galore, and the telling and re-telling and then telling some more of your medical history.  Has this industry never heard of streamlining the information?  A day full of meeting with surgical internists on what’s going to happen in the surgery room was unenlightening.  In fact, Hook and I probably should have invited them to have appointments with us because it seemed we were correcting their information more than we were being educated.

Thanks to Hook’s surgeon (cell phone manners aside), I can visualize with clarity what’s going to happen in the surgical room.  I know what Hook’s pancreas looks like, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and I know all the different options the surgeon and his surgical co-pilot plan to use.  A good surgeon has a back-up plan going into surgery.   Our surgeon has a plan, a back-up plan, and a back-up to the back-up.  Let’s pray he can execute.

Get Well Cards:  Hospital or Home

For those thinking, ‘Give us details we can use!’ please feel free to send Get Well Dammit cards to:

Allan W. Hook
c/o St. David’s Medical Center
Room #:   pending
919 E 32nd St.
Austin, TX 78705

Or

Allan Hook
P.O. Box 151240
Austin, TX 78715-1240

(Yes, we live in a P.O. Box and there’s not much room for new furniture.)

As soon as I know Hook’s hospital room number, I will update the blog along with some visiting hours information.  I know he will be touched to see get well cards no matter what he may have told folks.   My ornery, old fool can be quite sentimental behind closed doors.

Our schedule tomorrow will look like this:

6:00am:  Check in for surgery

7:00am:  Fawn over Hook and plant quick kisses all over his little curmudgeonly face

8:00am:  Surgery begins

9:00am:  Begin fretting and avoiding contact with the general public and flare my nostrils at every person who answers their cell phone in the waiting room.  Please spare me my phone ringing.  It would be embarrassing to spend an entire morning giving others the evil eye for talking on their cells only to have mine start ringing. 😀

10:00am:  Post blog about how the waiting room needs to be updated ASAP to meet my needs

Surgery exciting?  No, but it is excitable and not the good kind either.  Oh man do I wish I were a crying sort of woman.

Click for Next Post  |  Click for Previous Post